Root Causes of dysfunction in Nigeria

By Terhemba Osuji

Corruption is not the problem in Nigeria today despite what many people are led to believe. 

The biggest problem in Nigeria today is the failure of a few kleptocrats and the nations decision makers to rotate power amongst the 250+ tribes spread over the nations six geo-political zones. 

The Nigerian experiment that amalgamated these 250+ tribes in 1914 has been hijacked by an nationally unpatriotic and classist sectional elite who have clung unto and recycled themselves in the corridors of power despite the agitations of minority, majority and other groups who have expressed their views on the subject at the various constitutional conferences held by almost every administration including the present one to no avail.

The failure to agree on how to fairly rotate power is the major reason for: 

1) the poor cohesion in tackling security issues like Boko Haram and Niger Delta Militancy because of the biased and misapplied security enforcement standards applied on both fronts, 

2) the lack of commitment in completing economically beneficial projects because of tribal preferences; and 

3) not curtailing the endemic corruption (because of perceptions of tribal witch hunting) plaguing the country, 

4) and not being able to frame the problem with Nigeria that every one from these disparate groups can agree upon in principle. 

All which to name a few springs from the root failure of not agreeing on uniform standards that would apply on every single issue if there was a fair and just power sharing agreement in Nigeria today.

Culled From "Leadership and Management issues in Nigeria" by Terhemba Osuji

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